]]>It’s a mixed picture for CMOs. At many organizations, CMOs are constantly fighting for more weight with top management because CMOs aren’t directly associated with a company’s sales and profits. And yet within marketing organizations, the majority of brand marketing execs believe the role will get its due. They say CMOs are important and can make a big impact if the right person’s on the job. But there are some who say the person they report to up top is totally disconnected from the rest of the company.

“Like any other role, it matters if the role is empowered and has smart, diligent people surrounding it,” said one brand exec. “A CMO can play an instrumental role in affecting sales, distribution, PR, research, product development and of course advertising.”

Some CMOs, however, aren’t making the CMO role look too good. Many can appear out of touch and not up on the details of their marketing initiatives. What’s more, many CMOs don’t control media spending, which is done on the brand or product level.

The CMO position is critical when it comes to managing how the overarching plan and all associated executions connect with top-line strategic objectives that only other top executives are privy to, explained one brand exec. Sometimes valuable business intelligence doesn’t reach managers.

According to another brand exec, the fact that CMOs have a bad rap isn’t their fault. He broke it down to two different types of CMOs: the big C and the little C. The big C is a visionary. He inspires the soul of the brand and defines what marketing means for the organization. Think Beth Comstock. The little C is a tactician. This CMO is skilled in the planning and execution. Think Mark Pritchard and Jim Stengel. Everything P&G has done over the last 30 years is little C.

“There’s going to be a disconnect when a brand that needs a little C brings on a big C and vice versa,” the brand exec said. “Additionally, the CMO usually doesn’t control the marketing budget; that’s done at the product level. Sure, he can provide advice and all that, but it’s hard to be super connected if you have no say in the day-to-day stuff.”

Overall, the common consensus from brand execs is that the role of the CMO will always exist. It may not be called that, but there will always be an overall head of marketing at every organization. And since that role changes and matures at lightening speed, there will always be the need for someone to lead brand positioning, mission and aspirations that will serve as a basis for important strategic and tactical decisions. The key is in finding the right person.

“Having a good CMO who understands the ‘now’ and how to effectively reach consumers and drive activation, while also being able to look 12-24 months down the road and being able to translate that across the business, is vital,” said a brand exec. “That being said, I also think one’s industry also plays a factor. If you look at retail, for example, there wasn’t a thing JCPenney’s CMO could do – their business strategy was an operational mess.”

]]>http://digiday.com/brands/do-brands-need-cmos/feed/0Walgreens CMO: Focus on the Consumer, Not Channelhttp://digiday.com/brands/walgreens-cmo-focus-on-the-consumer-not-channel/
http://digiday.com/brands/walgreens-cmo-focus-on-the-consumer-not-channel/#commentsThu, 27 Jun 2013 04:04:23 +0000http://www.digiday.com/?p=41769The top marketer at the pharmacy giant keeps it simple by avoiding a platform mindset.

]]>Walgreens interacts with about 12 million people per week online and via mobile. That’s why for the remainder of 2013 and going forward, Walgreens is prioritizing mobile, and rightfully so.

The company sees 1.8 million digital visits (nine websites, 10 mobile apps) every day, and half of them (900,000) happen via mobile. Furthermore, half of Walgreens’ mobile traffic (450,000) is by people accessing the company’s mobile apps or websites while in-store.

“We’re focusing on thinking about the customer, not about the channel because our customers think of Walgreens as an entity wherever they want to interact with us,” said Graham Atkinson, CMO of Walgreens. “We’ve got them into this thinking by having a common voice across touchpoints and by offering whatever they want wherever they want it.”

The retailer is aiming to be “omni-channel.” It thinks in terms of touchpoints not channels, according to Atkinson, who spoke at Forrester’s Customer Experience Forum in New York. Mobile is a part of Walgreens’ strategy of being wherever the consumer wants to access its products and services. And while some retailers are lamenting mobile and online’s potential for cannibalizing in-store sales, Walgreens doesn’t see it that way. Sales are sales regardless of which touchpoint they come through.

The company’s Balance Rewards program, for example, has grown to 72 million users in just nine months. Consumers can sign up online or through mobile and earn and redeem points for making purchases, filling prescriptions, getting immunizations in-store and even for exercising. It’s an omni-channel approach, as consumers can redeem points online, in-store or on mobile. As part of this program, members get to chat for free with Walgreens’ 70,000 pharmacists and technicians 24-7 regarding specific prescriptions or for advice. This, too, can be done via online and via mobile.

And still, even for an organization as big as Walgreens, digital and mobile, specifically, still present challenges. The biggest, according to Atkinson, is focus. With the flood of new technology and platforms, picking and choosing which ones to pursue becomes the biggest challenge. It’s hard for brands to make sure they’re focusing on the right priorities, and it’s also difficult to implement quickly and be nimble.

Simplicity is also tricky, especially from a mobile perspective. When it comes to mobile, someone is always trying to cram that last feature or functionality into a mobile app. On the other hand, simplicity is a big opportunity in mobile. Walgreens’ refill-by-mobile functionality is a testament to this. A long process, that forced people to leave their houses, stand in lines and then wait for medication, has been simplified.

One key is to get ideas from everywhere. A junior member of the Walgreens social media team brought up the idea of being able to print your Instagram photos from your Walgreens mobile app, which is now a feature. A member of the company’s mobile team thought of the prescription refill feature.

“Anyone can innovate,” said Deepika Pandley, vp of online strategy and customer experience at Walgreens. “The best ideas have come from people hyper-focused on what they are working on. The biggest lesson we’ve learned on mobile is, it’s OK to take risks with new technology or ideas as long as you’re ready to get feedback and react to it quickly.”

]]>http://digiday.com/brands/walgreens-cmo-focus-on-the-consumer-not-channel/feed/0Brands that are Getting the Most Social Buzzhttp://digiday.com/brands/brands-that-are-getting-the-most-social-buzz/
http://digiday.com/brands/brands-that-are-getting-the-most-social-buzz/#commentsWed, 26 Jun 2013 04:05:34 +0000http://www.digiday.com/?p=41671Brands like Pepsi, Disney and ESPN are being talked about the most in social media.

]]>Engagement is important to brands on social media, but so are the conversations that consumers initiate on their own regarding the brands they love and hate.

Social analytics platform Track Social has tracked the conversations going on in social media and narrowed it down to the top 10. This list incorporates conversations with a brand as well as consumer discussions directed at or about a brand on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and Google Plus.

]]>Marisa Riccardi, CMO of New York Stock Exchange, is in an interesting position. She’s been tasked with taking a 225-year-old organization and reinvigorating it with digital.

What’s a surefire way to anger any CMO?
Living in your own silo. You must think, work and collaborate with everyone in the organization as a marketer. While other functions might be able to work more independently, marketers must have harmonious relationships with everyone to be successful. It was Beth Comstock who said our role is to “instigate and implement.”

What are the qualities of a good marketer?
Be a business person who happens to enjoy marketing and storytelling and not the other way around. Numbers and metrics matter, and being able to illustrate how every dollar spent will help solve a real objective could not be more important. Also, really care. Whether you’re working on a specific business unit or complicated product, follow the competitive social media channels, learn about the group or product history, ask questions, speak the nomenclature, appreciate the technical acronyms and be a business partner.

What’s one key to success as a marketer?
Understand the big picture. Understand the “why” behind each project you’re working on and how it fits into the higher-level strategy and broader business goals. Don’t be afraid to challenge if it’s the right thing to do.

What’s the hardest and most rewarding part of your job?
The hardest and most rewarding at the same time is managing people. Keeping people motivated, trained, inspired and producing effectively and efficiently is a full-time job, especially during times of uncertainty.

What are NYSE’s digital priorities for 2013?This year’s most significant investment in digital was through the launch of a branded-content property, NYSEBigStage.com. We created NYSE Big Stage to tell the stories behind the companies and market activities that intersect with our world. We also invest in digital from a partnership perspective. For example, The Wall Street Journal’s “Startup of the Year” documentary series launches on Monday, and we are the exclusive sponsorship partner. Paid opportunities that align with what we’re doing feel far more organic and ensure that we’re getting the results we’re aiming for through engaging with an audience via marketing vs. disrupting an audience’s experience with advertising.

What are your biggest challenges with digital?
Finding time to work with more of the emerging players in digital marketing. We have brainstormed with startups around a variety of capabilities from leveraging augmented-reality technology to using a video app to create interactive multimedia stories.

]]>http://digiday.com/brands/nyses-cmos-secrets-to-success/feed/0Facebook’s Fight For Dominancehttp://digiday.com/platforms/facebooks-fight-for-dominance/
http://digiday.com/platforms/facebooks-fight-for-dominance/#commentsThu, 20 Jun 2013 18:50:07 +0000http://www.digiday.com/?p=41443Launching the ability to create videos in Instagram is part desperation and part logical evolution for Facebook's Instagram

]]>Twitter’s launch of Vine has been getting a lot of buzz, with brands like Adidas, Samsung and French Connection using the platform to create six-second video loops.

On the other hand, Facebook, which acquired Instagram in 2012, hasn’t done much with the photo-sharing app, giving off the impression that it doesn’t really know what to do with it — until now. Today Facebook announced that it will integrate video into Instagram, and the industry thinks it’s Facebook’s way of fighting for dominance.

“Facebook is losing relevance among the younger, cooler, more influential online trendsetters who moved to Twitter and other networks,” said Aubrey Flynn, brand content director for Ciroc Ultra Premium vodka. “Buying Instagram was a smart move to remain relevant, but that move was trumped with Twitter’s recent release of Vine. Now Facebook strikes back with video on Instagram to maintain its position as the most popular mobile application, by leveraging vine’s most popular feature — video.”

Starting today, when you go to take a photo on Instagram, you’ll see a movie camera icon. Tap it to enter video mode, where you can take up to fifteen seconds of video through the Instagram camera. Instagram has thirteen filters built specifically for video and when users upload their videos they can select their favorite scene from what they’ve recorded as a cover image.

Brands are loving the 15-second video option, whereas there was a lot of doubt about Twitter’s 6-second looping video model. “As a brand that has put a lot of effort into building an engaged Facebook audience, Instagram video and the 15 seconds available seems a more likely avenue to engage and entertain our audience with,” said Kenn Gold, director of content development at Publishers Clearing House.

Eden Zoller, principal consumer analyst at Ovum says that Facebook launching video features on Instagram makes total sense. In fact, he was surprised that Facebook took so long to make this move. There is no doubt Twitter will move fast to up the ante on Vine and this could undercut Facebook’s efforts with video on Instagram, per Zoller. Additionally, the videos for Instagram could be a good way for monetizing Instagram, something that Facebook has failed to do.

This move is part desperation and part logical evolution for Facebook’s Instagram, said Kasey Skala, digital communications manager at Great Clips. There’s been a lot of negative sentiment toward Facebook lately — both from users and brands. Keep in mind, Instagram has always had fairly high usage and adoption, but with how quick Vine caught on – and with the overall increase in video as a whole, Skala thinks it sent a little shockwave to Facebook.

“As an Instagram user myself, this essentially eliminates the need for me to use Vine,” Skala said. “You also have to take a look at this move from a business standpoint. Instagram is a mobile app and Facebook is focused on becoming a mobile platform. From a brand and ad standpoint, this is a pretty logical move to build the adoption and usage of video ads in Facebook’s mobile feed.”

Here are some more reactions from industry executives. We’ll be adding them as they come in.

Joe Barbagallo, manager of social media, Volvo Cars of North AmericaIt’s a natural progression of the platform given the space they play in. Now users can share the essence of a situation through sight, sound and motion, rather than just from a singular perspective. Sharing a video, whether 6 seconds or 15 seconds, is a very different communication that Instagram wants to be part of and I give them credit for growing the platform in this manner. I think the main difference between photo and video sharing on social networks is quality. You can get away with a lot less (context and quality-wise) with photos than you can with video. There is a lot more work that needs to go into video content that users need to be prepared for. I think 13 million-plus Vine users have shown a maturation in sharing social video. Given Instagram’s large user base, it will be interesting to see that maturation accelerate.

Dave Surgan, senior manager of strategy, Morpheus Media
Facebook is filling a major piece of the puzzle with Instagram Video. Text, photos, and videos are the primary types of content we share with each other. Facebook already has succeeded as a destination for posting updates and photos, but video has never taken off in the same way. Instagram’s abbreviated video format helps users share moments with plenty of differentiation from Vine. The large community of users already checking their Instagram streams throughout the day is a major differentiator for brands determining where to invest their time and resources.

Bob Goodman, svp, director of user experience, Arnold Worldwide

Photo and video content from friends and family is at the heart of what keeps people tuned into Facebook. So this could generate a lot more of it. Facebook is starting to use Instagram as an on-ramp to the way people capture their everyday experiences on mobile. It’s easy for people to take quick pictures and video using their phone, so extending Video capture to Instagram and tying it into to Facebook feeds is natural evolution. The challenge will be getting the user experience right. If the new video feature doesn’t feel like something that happens instantly, it could turn Instagram users off. But if they get this right, it helps Facebook bridge some of the gaps in their mobile experience and keep their social video content flowing.

Ron Faris, CMO, Virgin Mobile

It makes sense on a few fronts. It’s a defensive move to blunt Vine’s momentum and prevent an exodus of instagrammers for a more robust experience. But more importantly, it starts to widen the growing chasm between Facebook and Twitter and walling their gardens. Whether it works, however, is a different story.

]]>Tablet devices like the iPad have been a game-changer for the publishing industry.

The shift to digital was once a challenge for publishers, even a threat, according to Chris Reynolds, vp of marketing analytics at Conde Nast. Consumer adoption of tablet devices made that shift easier because the form factor for tablets is so close to what publishers are used to: print. The difference is that tablet devices provide a bigger opportunity for advertising and content, adding interactive elements that were never possible in print.

“The full-page takeover has been one of the most effective for brand impact on the Web,” said Reynolds. “On tablets, there’s a new opportunity to take advantage of that because you can do full-page takeovers every few pages and add interactive elements like slideshows or video right into the ad.”

The publisher’s mobile traffic was at about 24 percent in January 2013, with tablets representing about 10 percent on average across the network. Titles like GQ and Teen Vogue see numbers upwards of 40 percent on mobile. However high these numbers seem, Reynolds said that advertisers don’t come asking for tablet-specific campaigns. Any ads seen in tablet apps or via the Web on tablet are usually part of a multiscreen buy.

For the iPad editions of its magazines, Conde Nast provides advertisers with metrics such as number of paid subscriptions, number of single copy sales, number of readers that actually opened the edition and the total number of times that readers opened it, along with time spent.

The company is finding that the most popular content for tablets depends on the title. Golf Digest sees great success with video. Generally speaking, long-form editorial content like actual stories, video and slideshows do well across the board because the tablet is a lean-back device, where consumers aren’t looking for short snippets of content like they are on a mobile phone, for example.

“If you look at the time of day with highest tablet usage it’s usually during prime time or on the weekends,” Reynolds said. “That’s why we are developing tablet-specific content to fit that different mindset. We’re not worried about tablet usage cannibalizing Web usage because Web, tablet and mobile, are all part of a complementary ecosystem.”

Reynold’s said that the biggest opportunity for Conde Nast in the tablet space is the amount of data is has on subscribers. It gives the publisher a look at the preferences that people have for content and advertising on specific devices and Conde Nast can optimize based on that. The key, according to Reynolds, is making sure you’re available to consumers on whatever device they choose. That’s why Conde Nast is currently in the process of revamping some of its sites with responsive design. It’s starting with the titles that have the largest mobile/tablet usage.

The challenge with tablets is that they’re so new to the market. t’s comparable to the Web back in the 90s. People aren’t accustomed to engaging with content or ads on tablets so publishers and brands need to make sure that they’re very explicit in what people need to do. Things like “click here to play this video,” need to be prominent because you’re dealing with a platform so new that many people may not know what action to take without an explicit call to action.

“You’ve got to help people navigate the tablet content and advertising, otherwise you’re not going to get the interactions you were hoping for,” Reynolds said.